Cylindrical pipe wood-wind instrument



y 2% 1950 w. H. STUBBINS 2,508,550

CYLINDRICAL PIPE WOOD-WIND INSTRUMENT Filed Aug. 5, 1948 '2 Shecs-Sheet1 INI'ENTOR. W|i L\AM H, STUBBINS 14 V'TORNEV M y 1950 w. H. STUBBINS2,508,55Q

CYLINDRICAL PIPE WOOD-WIND INSTRUMENT Filed Aug. 5, 1948 -2 Sheets-Sheet2 IN! "EN TOR. \IVILLIAM H swussms Patented May 23, 1950 CYLINDRICALPIPE WOOD-WIND INSTRUMENT William H. Stubbins, Ann Arbor, Mich, assignorof one-half to Frank L. Kaspar, Riverside, 11].

Application August 5, 1948, Serial No. 42,712

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in cylindrical pipe woodwind instruments, and more particularly to improvements in the placementand construction of certain tone holes for the purpose of producing aresonant properly tuned B flat and for providing a separate register orspeaker tone hole correctly sized and placed to produce in the upperregister of the instrument the properly tuned duodecims of thefundamental register.

The B flat above referred to and to be hereinafter referred to in thisspecification is the B fiat located on the third line of the trebleclef.

The invention herein disclosed will be described as applied to a Boehmsystem clarinet, although it is understood that the same invention maybe applied to any cylindrical pipe wood wind instrument in which aregister or speaker tone hole is provided to produce, when open, theduodecims of a fundamental register and in which such register orspeaker tone hole is used also in the production of the tone B flat.

Prior to the present invention the tone B flat has been produced in suchinstruments by the combined use of the register or speaker ke and the Anatural key. Upon opening these keys, tone holes are opened which resultin the production of a tone corresponding to B flat. The production ofsuch a tone is not satisfactory in a critical musical work for the toneB flat so produced is not a resonant tone having a true pitch. Theproduction of a resonant properly tuned B flat requires the use of atone hole which is larger than that required to produce the trueduodecims of the fundamental register by the use of the register orspeaker tone hole.

In order to eifect a compromise between these conditions, it heretoforehas been the standard practice to employ a speaker or register holewhich is larger than that required to produce properly tuned duodecimsof the fundamental register but smaller than that required to produce aresonant properly tuned B flat. Because of such compromise, the tone Bflat cannot be produced on such an instrument with the desired fullresonance and true pitch. Also, the tones of the upper register may notbe true since the speaker or register tone hole in order to produce acompromise B flat is larger than the proper size of tone hole to producethe true duodecims in the upper or overblown register of the instrument.

This fundamental defect in wood wind instruments of the cylindrical pipetype has heretofore been recognized and remedies for it have beensuggested in several prior United States Letters Patent. Those believedto most closely approach the present invention are United States LettersPatent No. 706,557 issued August 12, 1902, No. 1,529,567 issued March10, 1925, No. 1,585,296 issued May 18, 1926, and No. 1,926,489 issuedSeptember 12, 1933.

The last three patents above listed disclose the use of a speaker orregister tone hole which is separate from the tone hole used to producethe tone B fiat. The key systems proposed in these patents are such asto open one hole and close the other selectively as required to producethe desired tone. As distinguished from the disclosures of these threeprior patents, my invention utilizes a properly sized speaker orregister tone hole located at the proper point to produce a node in theair column which will cause it to vibrate in the proper segments toproduce in the overblown register the duodecims of the fundamental tonesof the lower register of the instrument. This tone hole when used alonewill act as the register or speaker tone hole. A separate resonance tonehole is located downstream of the speaker or register tone hole and isspaced relative thereto. The resonance tone hole is of such size andlocation that when it is opened in cooperation with the speaker orregister tone hole, it produces a properly tuned resonant B flat. Thus,in my invention, the speaker or register tone hole and the resonancetone hole are both opened to produce B flat. When the resonance tonehole is closed, the speaker or register tone hole is open for producingthe tones of true pitch in the upper or overblown register.

In the first named of the above patents, i. e. No. 706,557, thedisclosure teaches the use of two tone holes to produce a divided aircolumn. Both tone holes are employed to produce the tone B flat and alsofor playing in the upper or overblown register. The efiect of theconstruction shown in this patent is that if the combined tone holeswill produce a resonant B fiat of true tone, the upper or overblownregister will not be properly tuned. II" the combined tone holes aresuch as to produce properly tuned tones in the upper or overblownregister, the B flat will not have the proper resonance and tone. Thepresent invention is, therefore, distinguished from this prior patent inthat the speaker or register tone hole is a single opening of the propersize and placement at the correct node position to produce the truetones desired in the upper or overblown register. This single tone holeacting as the speaker or register tone hole is adequate to function onlyas the register or speaker tone hole is inadequate to produce a resonantproperly tuned B flat. In the present invention, this defect is corrected by the provision or" the separate resonance tone hole which, whenopened in conjunction with the speaker or register tone hole and theopen A tone hole produces a resonant, properly tuned B flat.

It is, therefore, an object or the present invention to provide acylindrical :pipe wood wind instrument in which a properly tune-d B flatcan be produced and in which tones in the upper or overblown registerare duodecims of the tones produced in the iundarnental register.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cylindricalpipe wood wind instru' ment in which a simplified key mechanism providedeither as a part of the original cor1- struction of the instrument or asan accessory to be attached to existing instruments hich permits theselective opening and closing of the resonance tone hole used to producethe tone flat without aiiecting the open speaker or register tone holeused to facilitate the production of the true tones in the upper oroverblown register of the instrument.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cylindricalpipe wood wind instrument in which a system of tone holes and asimplified key system is provided which may be readily applied either tonew or existing instruments and which will improve the tones of theoverblown register as well as the B flat tone without requiring anychanges in the fingering of the instrument.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cylindricalpipe wood wind instrument in which a novel form of tone hole and padseat is provided which contribute to the production of accuratelypitched clear resonance tones.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following descriptionand appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification wherein like reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation on a reduced scale showing in dotted outlinethe general configuration of a clarinet and showing the presentinvention as applied to the upper joint thereof.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan View of the key mechanism forming a part ofthe present invention.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of a portion of the key mechanism on the upperjoint of a Boehm system clarinet and showing the key mechanism of thepresent invention associated therewith.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation of a portion of the top joint of aclarinet with all keys removed to show the speaker or register tone holeand the resonance tone hole associated therewith.

Fig. 5 is a section taken substantially on the line 55 in the directionof the arrows, Fi l.

The production of a resonant B fiat of true pitch is particularlydifficult in a cylindrical pipe wood wind instrument. In a clarinet, forexample, the tone is produced by opening tone holes located at the topportion of the fundamental or Chalumeau register. At this point, thetone is produced by the shortest possible basic air column which can beused for tone 4 production. The compression and force in the air columnat this point is the highest of any point in the air column. As is wellknown, the quality of tone produced by a short air column is accordinglyimpaired and makes it very dryiicult to control the pitch of theproduced tones. By dividing the air column with a speaker h located atthe proper node to produce the desired. upper or overblown registertones and sup plementing the speaker hole ith a resonance tone holelocated downstream from the speaker tone hole, the effect is to producethe desired. resonant B flat tone of proper pitch. The eiiect is toprovide a corresponding lengthening of the air column necessary toproduce the true B ilat tone and this in turn permits its production ata reduced pressure in the air column and the resultant better control ofthe tone production.

It is understood that the sizes and placement of both the speaker holeand the resonance hole are governed by the characterist'cs oi theparticular instrument to which they are to be ap-- plied as both areproportional to the or the instrument. Variations in the bore willafiect the specific sizes and placement of t holes but will not affectthe general an of the invention nor the particular key mechanism to beemployed in carrying out the in vention.

As will be mode fully explained hereinafter, the actuation of the padfor opening and closing the B iiat resonance hole is by a key mechani nwhich does not change the basic fingering of t is instrument and whichincludes an actuating arm attached to the speaker key and the use of theconventional thumb ring surrounding the thrunb hole. Thus, very littlechange is required in the construction of the instrument and no changeis required in its fingering.

By way of example, the present invention will be described as applied tothe uppe joint of Boehm system clarinet. As shown in Fig. l, the upperjoint it connects with the lower end of the tuning barrel i I andextends between the tuning barrel H and the lower joint E2. Themouthpiece I3 connects to the opposite end or the tuning barrel H andcarries the reed (not shown) which vibrates to excite the air column inthe bore of the clarinet to produce sound. The bell It connects with thelower end of the lower joint 12.

It is to be understood that a series of conventionally placed tone holesare provided in both the upper joint. l0 and the lower joint 2 forproviding oth r tones of the scale. Th e tone holes are controlled b jconventional key mechanisms for opening and closing the pads whichcontrol the opening and closing of e tone holes. These arrangements areconventional arrangements and are not disturbed by the presentinvention, so they have been omitted from the present disclosure.

In carrying out the present invention, a spe ker hole i5 (Fig. i) isprovided near the top the upper joint ii and is of the pro er v placedthe node of the vibrating air c "n the bore, to produce as t: up er oroverblown register the the ducd ciin oi the fundamental register. By way03. BXL e, bore in l have found that in a clarinet whee the upper jointis approximately 0.59 inch, the speaker hole is preferably approxima y0.103

inch in diameter and is placed downstream approximately 0.7092 from thetop of the upper joint of the instrument. A resonance hole it is spacedcircumferentially downstream from the speaker hole l and is of theproper size and is so placed that when opened in conjunction with thespeaker hole l5, the A key 45, the vibrating air column in the upperjoint H will be divided and lengthened to produce a resonant B fiat oftrue tone.

The resonance hole 16 is preferably approximately 0.116 inch in diameterin a clarinet whose bore is approximately 0.59 inch and it is locatedpreferably 2% inches downstream from the top of the upper joint of theinstrument. It is to be understood, however, that these dimensions willbe readily changed or varied by one skilled in the art as may benecessary to compensate for changes or variations in the bore dimensionsof the upper joint of the clarinet. I do not desire therefore, to belimited to the precise dimensions here set forth as one preferredembodiment of the invention.

As shown in Fig. 5, the upper joint I 5 comprises a pipe having acylindrical bore H extending lengthwise thereof. The speaker hole 55 andresonance hole l6 are formed by hollow cylindrical tubes l8 and I9respectively, which extend through the sidewall of the upper joint H andopen into the cylindrical bore ii. The length and the size of theopening in each of the tubes l8 and I9 is selected to produce, when thehole is opened, the desired division of the vibrating air column in thebore ll. As here shown, the tubes [3 and I9 terminate in pad seats 29and 2! respectively on which conventional pads (not shown) are seated.The pad seats 29 and 2i are curved radially downward and away from acentrally located high point. The tubes I8 and I9 are centrally locatedrespectively on a line which extends aggially through the high points ofthe pad seats 29 and 2|. Thus, the air stream escaping through the tubesl3 and i9 is deflected by the pads and distributed uniformly over thearcuate surfaces of the pad seats 29 and M. It has been found that suchpad seats have properties which assure not only a better closure of thetone hole by its associated pad but also a better openingcharacteristic, particularly as regards the ability to produce thereby afull resonant tone. It is to be understood that the use of such padseats is not limited to the tone holes here shown but that they may beused with other tone holes of the instrument as well.

The pads controlling the opening and closing of the speaker hole 15 andthe resonance hole iii are conventional types of pads and hence are notshown. The pads are actuated by the key mechanism which is shown in Fig.2. As here shown, a speaker key 22 is pivotally mounted as at 23 and haspad cup 24 on one end which contains the pad for controlling the openingand closing of the speaker hole l5. The other end terminates in aspatulate thumb portion 25 located immediately above the conventionalthumb hole 26. A suitable spring (not shown) maintains the speaker key22 normally in the proper position to close the speaker hole !5 at alltimes except when an opening force is applied by the thumb of the playerto the spatulate thumb portion 25.

The opening and closing of the resonance hole H5 is controlled by a padcarried in the pad cup 2'! which is mounted on a rotatable sleeve 28which is normally held by a conventional spring (not shown) in theposition to close the resonance hole [6. A thumb ring 29 is placedconcentric to the thumb hole 26 and is connected with a rotatable sleeve39. The rotatable sleeve 28 and the rotatable sleeve 30 are mounted on acommon shaft (not shown) which also carries a rotatable sleeve portion28A. The shaft is mounted in a plurality of posts 3i which are securedto the body of the instrument. An L-shaped arm 32 is secured to thesleeve 39 and underlies an arm 33 which is secured to the rotatingsleeve 28A. Another L-shaped arm 34 is secured to the rotating sleeve28A and underlies an arm 35 also secured to the sleeve 28. An arm 35 issecured to the speaker key 22 and overlies an arm 31 secured to theupper portion of the rotatable sleeve 28.

The key mechanism above described is associated with other keymechanisms of the clarinet as shown in Fig. 3. As here shown, theL-shaped arm 32 has an end which underlies an arm 49 carried by therotatable sleeve 4| to which is attached the first finger ring auxiliarykey 43 which underlies the spatulate end 42 (shown in dotted line) ofthe pivotally mounted A key 45. The first finger ring auxiliary key 43is closed by the action or the first finger ring 44. The first fingerring auxiliary key 43 is normally held open by a spring (not shown).

Other keys shown in this figure include the pivotally mounted side Gsharp key 46, the side B--C trill key 41, and the side BB flat trill key48. These keys are here included merely as being representative of theconventional keys on such an instrument and to show how the key systemof the present invention may be readily associated therewith withoutchanging the fingering of the instrument.

The operation of the above described key me chanism is as follows: Whenthumb pressure is applied to the spatulate end 25 of the speaker key 22,it is caused to pivot about the pivot point 23 and the speaker hole i5is opened. At the same time, the arm 36 is raised and the arm 3'1 isallowed thereby to raise and permit rotation of the rotatable sleeve 28by the action of the spring (not shown). This rotation causes theresonance key 2'! to be raised and the resonance hole It to be opened.Thus, with both the speaker hole i5 and the resonance hole It open andwith the A key 45 opened, the tone B flat is produced with fullresonance and its true pitch.

When it is desired to close the resonance hole i6 and open the speakerhole 15 for the production of the tones in the upper or overblownregister, the A key 45 is closed, the thumb ring 29 is depressed and thethumb hole 26 is closed by the action of the players thumb while thespeaker key 22 is held open. This raises the arm 32 which in turn raisesthe arm 33 and rotates the sleeve 28A to raise the arm 34 which in turnraises the arm 35 and moves the resonance cup 21 to its position forclosing the resonance hole I6.

If the thumb ring 29 is depressed while the speaker key 22 is closed thespring action of the speaker key 22 transmitted through the arms 36 and31 to the rotating sleeve 28 is suflicient to hold the resonance cup 21on the resonance hole [6 and to nullify action of the thumb ring 29 asconcerns the opening or closing of the resonance cup 2! on the scale Hi.In this instance, the thumb ring 29 acts in a conventional mannerthrough the arms 32 and 40 to control the closing of the first fingerring actuated key 43.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the key mechanism and the toneholes provided by the present invention are additions to the keymechanism and tone holes of a. conventional Boehm system instrument andthat they may be employed without changing the normal fingering thereof.Thus, the tone holes and key mechanism oi the present invention may beemployed advantageously either in the production of new instruments oras additions to existing instruments. In either instance, the presentinvention permits the production of a resonant B fiat of true tone andthe production of true tones in the overblown or upper register of theinstrument when the speaker hole is open.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to secure by UnitedStates Letters Patent is:

I claim:

1. A wood wind instrument having a spaced register hole and a B flattone hole adapted to produce when opened with said register hole andwith the A hole of the instrument, a divided air column for producing arational fundamental resonant B fiat or" true tonal properties, a mymechanism for operating pads to selectively open and close said registerhole and said 13 fiat tone hole, said key mechanism including apivotaliy mounted thumb operated key for controlling the opening andclosing of the said register hole and said B fiat tone hole and a thumbring for controlling the separate closing of the said 33 tone hole whensaid thumb operated key is in its raised position to open said registerhole.

2. A Wood Wind instrument as claimed in claim 1 and furthercharacterized in that the said B flat tone hole is spacedcircumierentially downstream irom said register hole.

3. A wood wind instrument as claimed in claim 1 and furthercharacterized in that an operating arm is interposed between said thumbring and said B fiat key to control the closing thereof by actuation ofsaid thumb ring.

4. A cylindrical pipe Wood wind instrument having a speaker tone holelocated at a node in the air column in the upper joint of the instrumentand adjacent the tuning barrel and sized when opened to produce in theupper register the true ducdecims of the tones of the lower register ofthe instrument, and a separate resonance hole spaced from said speakertone hole and sized to produce when opened with said speaker tone holeand the A tone hole a true toned resonant flat, and a key mechanism forselectively operating pads to open and close said tone holes a pivotedthumb key for opening and closing said speaker tone hole and a thumbring surrounding the thumb hole for selectively operating a pad to closesaid resonance tone hole when said speaker tone hole is open.

5. In a Eoehin system clarinet, a register aperture in the upper jointthereof adapted to produce, when opened, an upper register having truetoned duodecims of the fundamental register, a resonance aperture in theupper joint thereof and spaced circumferentially downstream from saidregister aperture and adapted to produce when opened with said registeraperture and the opened A key, a true toned resonant B flat, and a keymechanism for selectively opening and closing said apertures.

6. A Boehm system clarinet as claimed in claim 5 further characterizedin that said key mechanism comprises a pivoted thumb key for opening andclosing said register aperture and a separate thumb ring for selectivelyoperating a pad for closing said resonance aperture while said registeraperture is open.

WILLIAM H. STUBBINS.

CITED The foil wing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 706,557 Heckel Aug. 12, 19021,585,296 Loomis May 18, 1926 2,21%,089 Stover Sept. 10, 1940 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 324,169 Germany Dec. 23, 1917 367,347 FranceJune 22, 1906 214,348 Great Britain Apr. 24., 1924;

